This is an unflinching, unforgiving look at a first-generation Chinese American's obsession with WASP culture and the rules she will break to enter that most protected old-moneyed society. It is full of pain, of jealousy, of an outsider status that it seems the narrator can never escape. Ivy is disgusted by her family, her friends, her life, as she views it always through the eyes of her white and moneyed classmates. To be American, to finally fit it and enter the upper echelon of American society, she believes that she must find a way to infiltrate this elite class. Ivy is not likable, but readers can understand her selfishness. The ultimate American dream is of course to completely make oneself over, and this is where Ivy excels. The story is tantalizing if not always pleasant, and readers will leave feeling that Ivy got what she both wanted and deserved.

White Ivy is appropriately named: Ivy is a plant that climbs and seeks different directions in so doing, and Ivy, the protagonist, is every bit a climber, taking advantages of situations and people to meet her goals. When we first meet Ivy, she is a middle schooler, living in Massachusetts with her family, who are immigrants from China. She had spent the first few years of her life in China, living with her grandmother, who it could be said subtly planted the seeds of deceit and dishonesty in her. When she is five, she and her grandmother join her family in the USA, and Ivy never really takes to them. Her parents embarrass her...she wants a different family. Their Chinese-ness makes her uncomfortable, and she is forever seeking a different life. When she is caught "acting out" by her parents, they ship her off to China for a summer, where Ivy learns more about what she wants (and what she doesn't) out of life.

As soon as Ivy is old enough to leave home, she does so. By then, her parents have moved to New Jersey, so Ivy returns to Massachusetts in search of a new life. She reunites with an old crush, and from there the book really takes off. What first looks appear to be quirks, and later quirks combined with deceit and avarice, soon lead the reader to see that Ivy has a personality disorder. She remains disconnected from her family to the extent possible: her parents continue to embarrass her, her younger brother is depressed (which the family attributes to anemia), yet her relationship with her grandmother remains the most significant in her life. Ivy focuses on marrying Gideon, whose family is old Massachusetts money and (to me) annoyingly superficial.

As the book unfolds and the plot develops, Ivy, too, shows the reader her cards. We want to like her because we feel bad for her inability to accept who she is, but we hate her for her disregard for others, her insincerity, and her shallowness. She is a person who operates on whims and out of self-interest: she has no self respect.

The ending of this book is intense, as two major things happen: one I did not expect (it is disturbing) and when it happened, cemented for me Ivy's mental illness; the other, I had guessed at long before.

White Ivy is a very engrossing story - hard to put down- and an excellent choice for book groups. The manner in which Ivy rejects her Chinese family remains somewhat underdeveloped, yet it is a fundamental piece of why Ivy behaves as she does (at all times). Really worth reading! (I remain ISO of someone to discuss the book with!)

My apologies but I could not finish this book. I have read past a third of the book and if it’s going anywhere special it is taking too long for me. I am sure that this story is great for other people but it just isn’t for me.

Thought-provoking, coming-of-age story, that might seem slow at parts, but it truly is outstanding. Read this book!!

This dark story follows the life of Ivy. A brilliant mix of literature + immigrant subject + notes of thriller is surprisingly a debut novel by Yang. I’ve got to say - Ivy’s grandmother is SASSY!! The story and characters are realistic and have great originality to them. Treasure-worthy

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Netgalley and Susan Yang for allowing me to experience White Ivy in exchange for an honest opinion.

We meet Ivy as she’s initially living in China with her grandmother, but the story quickly moves to Massachusetts. Ivy’s parents, and her brother, Austin (who was born in the US) are living there and financially able to bring Ivy, and then her grandmother, to live with them. Yang’s story about Ivy as a young child (both in China and in the US) grabs your heart. Throughout the book, however, Ivy wasn’t always a sympathetic character..and the last third of the book is an eye opener!
Early publicity about the book focuses on Ivy as a child when she was a child and taught to steal by her grandmother. This was only a small portion of Ivy, but it was interesting to see how the underlying approach to skirt the laws of life developed as she grew up.
Overall, it’s an impressive debut novel with a number of interesting storylines and characters. One big gap, for me, was around Ivy’s college years. Knowing more about that time period might have developed Ivy as a character even more fully. I also ended with questions about the parents: what did Ivy’s parents really do for a living and what was really the story behind Gideon’s parents and their standard of living?
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read White Ivy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved and loathed <i>White Ivy</i> in equal parts. Initially, I was convinced I had embarked on a 5-star read. The descriptions of Ivy's upbringing, family dynamics, and interactions with America as a Chinese immigrant were well-depicted and powerful. The writing is beautiful and I loved the Chinese axioms interspersed throughout. Then, the novel had a dramatic shift toward a soap opera-esqe plot. I literally groaned, thinking, what is going to happen to this storyline I love? It veered in that direction for the remainder of the book, but the writing was strong and I was able to enjoy it despite my growing dislike for the characters.

Ivy was born in China and immigrated to the suburban United States as a child. Her parents immigrated before her, and until she was able to follow them, she was raised by her grandmother Meifeng in Chongqing. Ivy describes her Chinese childhood as filled with warmth. Her admiration for Meifeng is palpable and remains a thread throughout <i>White Ivy</i>.

When Ivy arrives in the US, she is shocked--by culture, by family, by just about everything. Ivy struggles to fit in at school and at home; things finally begin to shift for her when Meifeng arrives on US soil. I was immediately head-over-heels for their relationship and Meifeng's character. For example, Meifeng teaches Ivy to steal in a variety of settings. Whether it's at the charity thrift shop or a tag sale, the two are always scheming and I found it oh-so-entertaining.

So what changes? This becomes a romantic drama with infidelity, violence, and self-harm. As a youth, it is easy to fill sad for Ivy, but as she ages, Ivy becomes less and less likable. The word that struck my mind over and over was vapid. Ivy is self-involved, obsessed with image, and seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that image. Also, take note, trigger warnings for the above topics.

In attempt to not give anything away, I'll say that it gets ugly. Ivy's behaviors spiral endlessly downward and it was hard for me as a reader to decide if I felt empathy or sympathy for the ancillary characters impacted by Ivy's behavior. There are moments when I felt badly for Gideon and Roux, and then others where I disliked them as much as I disliked Ivy.

Ultimately, I think this book was excellent and would recommend it. However, it's always hard for me to say that I loved a book when I so strongly disliked the characters. In many ways, I wish it had continued as a family drama and immigrant narrative rather than derailed to a well-written saga.

Favorite quotes:
<i>“Remember this, Baobao: when winds of change blow, some build walls. Others build windmills.” Ivy repeated the phrase. I’m a windmill, she thought, picturing herself swinging through open skies, a balmy breeze over her gleaming, mechanical arms.

Due to the high year-round humidity and a diet of mountainous vegetables cooked in vats of bubbling chili oil, the girls grew up with pearly, lustrous skin, not a blemish or dry flake to be seen. Because of this perfect complexion, the beauty of Sichuan women became famous throughout China—they were known collectively as la mei nü, or “spicy beauties.”

not all forms of money were equal. She thought: I’ll always carry my wealth on my body, not in my wallet.

As I get older, I think that a shared history counts for a lot more in friendship than quantity of time spent with another person.”</i>

A book that keep delivering dark surprises each chapter. I mainly requested this due to the quick glance to the cover. It did not disappoint.

Thank you to @netgalley @simonbooks for my free e-ARC in exchange for a review.⁣
⁣
White Ivy follows Ivy, a child of Chinese immigrants from middle school in which she attends an elite prep school, learns how to steal per her grandmother's instruction, crushes on white boys and grows up to be a woman who will do anything for success/wealth. ⁣
⁣
Though Ivy is not the most likeable protagonist I could not stop reading; she's a thoroughly fascinating, seductive and manipulative character. I got Cruel Intentions vibes from this novel, both due to the time period depicted and the unlikeable wealthy characters. ⁣
⁣
I recommend this book to people who like a little pettiness in their reading, a dark coming-of-age story, a love triangle, a literary thriller and wealthy people behaving badly. ⁣
⁣
This is a complete page-turner but I have to admit I was not a huge fan of the ending. I give this one ⭐⭐⭐🌠.
⁣
#whiteivy #susieyang #notjustaprettybook #bookreview #kayteereviews #bookphotography #fallreads #frontlist #diversereads

What a delightful surprise this book was!
The reader goes from feeling sorry for Ivy to castigating her for her choices. Through the plot twists and turns, this hard to put down novel will have the reader guessing and making their own choice on how to perceive the main character.

Ivy is a melancholic thief and liar. She means about her immigrant parents and the material possessions she doesn’t have. Her childhood crush slips through her fingers when she spends a summer in China. Fast forward several years where she reunites with him and gets wrapped up in a world she only imagined.

This book was wild! White Ivy, Susie Yang’s debut novel, is a dark coming-of-age novel that follows Ivy, a Chinese immigrant, who attempts to climb the American social ladder to mix with the privileged New England elite by any means possible. Her primary access point is through her childhood crush, Gideon Speyer, who she fortuitously reunites with as an adult. Ivy slowly connives her way into his wealthy social circle and carefully masks herself to fit in. When she eventually joins his family on a trip to their cottage on the Cape, her past comes back to haunt her.

While I struggled to root for Ivy (and at times was appalled by her), I found this novel extremely compelling. It’s paced well and, at times, reads like a thriller. There were aspects of the story that felt far fetched, but I think Ivy’s distorted ambitions are believable. This book would be great for fans of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Gone Girl, or Parasite.

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy, which was received in exchange for an honest review*

Meet Ivy, the daughter of Chinese immigrants trying to find her place. She’s insecure, manipulative but also caring. In her youth she had a crush on Gideon. She moves away and only reconnects with him in her late twenties. Gideon comes from a wealthy family and Ivy is thrilled when he asks her to be his wife. She’s finally made it. But her doubts creep in and her history of doing what it takes to try and get ahead may sabotage her future.

A multi-layered plot and flawed heroine makes this a not to miss read. The debut author shares the immigrant experience and Ivy’s coming of age in a raw but eloquent way.

Wow, this debut novel was exceptional. I'm trying to gather my thoughts to review this fascinating mix of contemporary fiction, coming of age, immigrant struggle, with an undercurrent of thriller.
Ivy Lin and her family have immigrated from China to the United States.
The more Ivy strives to fit in, the more apart she feels because of her Chinese culture and lack of money.
Her only friend is Roux, another misfit. He sees her for who she is and falls in love with her, despite her faults. But Ivy wants more.
When she meets wealthy classmate Gideon Speyer, he epitomizes her American dreams and she is obsessed with him.
Then Ivy's mother becomes aware of the attachment, and she whisks her off to China for the summer, effectively ripping apart Ivy's hopes.
Years later Ivy reconnects with Gideon through his sister Sylvia, and her obsession grows stronger.
Now she will do anything to keep him.
The writing was beautiful, dark and haunting, it kept me enthralled.
Ivy was such a compelling and complex character. Even when I despaired over her choices, she still drew me in.
And the ending was amazing.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

White Ivy written by Susie Yang is a debut contemporary slow-burn thriller. For a long time, I thought I was just reading a twisted romance with themes of race, privilege and power but it quickly became darker around 70%. Main character Ivy Lin who initially steals and lies because of her upbringing and feeling the pressure of being poor in a white and privileged community but she eventually becomes detached from reality and from her own feelings & thoughts. It becomes clear to me that she is a sociopath with a mental illness. She is vengeful, cruel and a true opportunist. She craves self-destruction and destroys her own happiness to obtain what will elevate her status & image.

Some readers may consider this novel #ownvoice as author Yang paints Chinese culture – education and success-oriented, but also image-oriented, violent, manipulative, judgmental, and conniving. Yang infuses multiple Chinese migrant stories using other characters into her book that are different from Ivy’s yet all show that the Chinese aim to flaunt their success both in money & in image. Ivy’s family is dysfunctional and depraved in so many ways that Ivy thought she could not relate to. In a warped appreciation of her family, she comes to realize this is how she became a stronger version of her mother & grandmother. The vast characters in the book are just as unlikable.

Three generations of Lin women that all have secrets, and each have no reservations about doing what they need to do including murder to survive. The systematic racism, sexism, harsh family upbringing that is the motive for the Lin women to alter themselves to get what they need in life. As Lins’ mother said, she willed it. She wants it, she’ll have it. This is the bloodline of Ivy Lin who lacks empathy, is a pathological liar, petty, corrupt and ultimately an immoral sociopath. She projects her own mental flaws onto others to justify her actions. Ivy is never satisfied with what she has and will do anything to get what she wants.

“…her need to destroy, escape, remake was a darkness the combined Meifeng and Nan hadn’t been able to fumigate”.

Thank you Netgalley & Simon and Schuster for this sending me this ARC!

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐈𝐯𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧; 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

Complete devotion, singular love, obsession, class, frightening stolen pleasures… these are just a few of the things burning beneath Ivy Lin’s thieving skin. Is her immigrant grandmother Meifeng to blame, raising her in China while Ivey’s parents left for America and a better life, entrusting her into Meifeng’s care for three formative years? Or does her influence spoil the child’s morals when they are settled in Boston, Massachusetts and reunited with Ivy’s family? After-all, it is when they are living in the city where Meigfeng’s first most important lesson, one that requires stealing at the local Goodwill, takes root. Or does Ivy’s inward turn lay at her distant, cold, hardworking parents feet, who want nothing more than for Ivy to grow up and become a doctor?

Maybe it’s all those books in the library she escapes into, full of bleak tales where beauty is the cure for all. One thing is certain, she isn’t the adored child in her family, that falls to her younger, indulged brother, American born Austin. “And so Ivy grew like a wayward branch”, and when she falls in love there are no half-measures. Friendless, she bonds with a boy trapped in starker circumstances. A lonely liar, she befriends Roux Roman, fascinated by his gruff manners and impressed by his “enterprising spirit” the two share dark secrets and the shame of being outliers. Always hiding something, Roux respects her criminal savvy, but not so much her eagerness to rise above their humble origins. But her heart belongs to Gideon.

Ivy yearns for the privilege her female classmates take for granted, but her most fervent desire is to have Gideon Speyer. Speyer, who lives in a glass and stone manor, son of a state senator, a beautiful, youthful mother and cool older sister- people with money, those whose very voices speak of ownership and everything her family isn’t. Piercing her ears, wearing the right clothes, nothing will make her look like the girls in the popular clique, erase her ethnicity… she will never pull off being the typical, lazy American kid. Teens who have never known a firm hand nor stern word, unlike Ivy whose parents have mastered corporal punishment like an art form. If she can get the right birthday present for her crush, she believes everything will work out in her favor, even if she has to break her parents rules. Just when she thinks her devious plotting has been successful, everything crashes around her, so too the house of lies she has built.

Busted by her mother Nan, suffering publication humiliation, Nan proves Meifeng isn’t the only woman in the family with a lesson to teach Ivy. She banishes her to China, for her own good. It is there a lasting impression is made, where she learns that it is possible for a Chinese girl like her to have everything. Her Aunt Sunrin’s wealth is a constant glow, as vast and bright as her generosity. Ivy finally gets a taste of the good life… the trip is life altering. When she returns home, her parents upend everything yet again solidifying the sad fact that Gideon is a dying dream.

Home again behind the walls of deprivation, all she can think about are the things missing in her life, longing for the fresh smells of New England. She’ll never buckle down and become the studious girl her parents desire, but she knows she must work harder if she is to get into the college of her choice, despite the fury it is sure to ignite. Neither American or Chinese, or maybe both, Ivy carries the weight of Meifeng and her mother Nan’s pasts, misunderstanding their choices, hearts. Ashamed of her family or proud of their climb, it is her own choices that come into question.

By some strange happenstance, Sylvia Speyer drops into Ivy’s life and a flood of all the things she thought were lost to her, especially Gideon, come rushing back. Invited into the circle, she isn’t going to blow her chance with Gideon and continues to worm her way in at every opportunity. If she has to display false cheer, ‘say frivolous things’ and charge up her credit cards to secure her place in his life, so be it! “𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.” But even all things magical can turn dark. Just when she is swimming through life, uncovering all the secrets she needs to succeed in Gideon’s world, the past coughs up a surprise.

Who are you Ivy? How far are you willing to go? What is really at the center of your lonely, hungry heart?

This is dark, so dark. What traps do we set for ourselves when we cannot control our desires? How blinding love and shame can be, married to each other! The immigrant dream for a better life, the demons that follow on the heels of our children, the disease of want. The rage that some of us are forced to scratch the ground for our fair share while from afar other’s lives appear charmed. The reminders thrown in our face when we’ve shucked our old skin… Grave sins, dirty secrets, betrayals, is this the gilded cage you really want? Is it better to settle, remain rooted to where you belong? I loved it. I wish I could write more but don’t want to spoil anything! It’s one of my favorite reads this year. Incredible debut, it blew me away!

Publication Date: November 3, 2020

Simon & Schuster

This is my first book of Yang. Every character in this book just seemed miserable. Everyone had secrets and lied. A major secret is revealed toward the end that I had suspected. I also knew what was going to happen with another major scene and was appalled and then disgusted. I did not care for Ivy. I felt empathy in the beginning as she struggled with issues, but as the novel progressed, I felt she had no redeeming qualities. The character I liked the best was Roux. He was desperate for crumbs from Ivy. I couldn't warm up to any of the characters in this book.

It’s people like Ivy - the ones that don’t know their worth - that end up surprising you the most. I’ve fallen in love with this writing and this way of story telling, and I can’t wait to hear more about Ivy. This is a true character-driven novel and Yang has done a fantastic job getting us into the world she’s created. A story about privilege, deceit, and obsession: this one’s a winner.

This novel is certainly a slow burn, following Ivy Lin from her childhood in China to growing into adulthood in the U.S. It has romance elements, lots of family drama, and secrets from the past. Most importantly, though, it's a powerful debut that shows a different and darker side to the immigrant experience and casts Ivy as a grifter unlike any I've read before - namely, a Chinese woman from an immigrant family. Additionally, I loved the character development throughout this novel, especially with Ivy and her family members. Even the characters that I thought I had figured out were SO much more than what was on the surface.

Ivy steals, lies, and charms her way to get what she wants, which on the surface, would appear to create an unlikeable character. But throughout the story, I found myself often rooting for her because I could relate to so many of her emotions and inadequacies. Most of her story takes place in a wealthy, elite, very white world that constantly sees her as "other": a Chinese woman from a working/lower class immigrant family. Reminiscent of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ivy isn't just grifting to get what she wants - she's doing it to survive and thrive in a world that often works against her.

With a main character you’re meant to hate this was a surprising story about Ivy—a Chinese-American girl who will stop at nothing to get the wealthy life she’s always desired.
This is not a sweet story, and some crazy things happen right up to the end!

Recommended: to people who know what they're getting
For a psychological study of a woman who lacks empathy, for race and class reflections on a life lived, for a strangely compelling view of someone constantly on the edge of self destruction, for a very slow-paced read that focuses on the inner workings on one woman's mind

Thoughts:
This book was not what I expected. Instead of an explosive thriller watching a descent into madness fueled by racism and class striation, I got a character study of a person trapped in their own mind as they self destruct their happiness in lieu of what they see as The Good Life. By the end, I felt a little deflated. But hopefully, if I can set expectations correctly, you can read this book happily the whole way through and end it feeling quite satisfied with what you've had.

We are with Ivy from infancy to early adulthood. Tracing her fall into thieving and other acts of familial rebellion resonate with other accounts of second generation Asian kids in America (at least, in novels if not in fact). While I anticipated this having a larger effect as it snowballed throughout the story, things turned instead to Ivy's endless need to lie about who she is and what her life is. Her childhood crush (nee, obsession) Gideon is the primary target of this as she plots to catch him for her own in her 20s at a chance meeting. Since he's quite well-to-do, Ivy has to hide her darkside and her poor family at all costs.

Please expect a super slow burn for this book. Imagine a page of paper curling slowly to ash in the dying embers of a fire, and that's what this is like. Not a bad thing, but something to be properly prepared for. The drama in this book is all in Ivy's mind as she panics and calculates and manipulates.

The plot did not go as I expected. That wouldn't usually be a bad thing, but here it left me feeling a bit flat. Like, why did I even bother reading that whole book if this is where Ivy ends up? I suppose the answer there is along the lines of "it's the journey, not the destination." This book could certainly speak volumes to the secret inner lives of every person you see. And while this book is ostensibly based entirely around Ivy's relationship with Gideon, there's really no romance; don't expect much like that.

White Ivy left me wondering why she makes the choices she does; Ivy doesn't seem to know what her happiness would truly look like, and so instead grabs onto what she thinks it is supposed to look like. Even when possible happiness is in her grasp, she detonates and takes her lying to the ultimate endgame of lies.

My favorite bits of this were watching Ivy's mental evolution as she layers more and more lies in her life and is then blindsided when it seems that some of them have become fact. This crystalizes early on when she is sent to China, and her attitude bends in quite different ways after that.

So, this is not a bad book. Personally it was not what I thought it would be, and so my experience was a bit tepid. However I can happily recommend it to others assuming they know what it is. So please, if a slow burn character study of a compulsive liar obsessed with image sounds up your alley, plan to read this one! It is truly excellent at what it does.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.